ben newman wrote:Kitesurfing will ruin your relationship with the wife, with the family and with your non kiting friends.
You will find yourself dropping anything and everything when the wind blows.

this is so true.... I think about this a lot...

I've missed so many birthdays, ruined so many relationships and turned down a lot of lucrative work because my pursuit of my passion has always come first. I am not married and i don't have kids (yet...) whilst most of my friends have gone down that route. I'm genuinely pleased for them but all i ever hear is how i'm going to regret not having a family or getting married... but then then i think the people who tell me this... they really don't have a passion like i do, they genuinely don't get it. Maybe their more conventional path is equally rewarding (I really hope it is) but surfing, windsurfing and then kiting have been the most consistantly positive force in my life for 26 years. But more than the feeling i get it has taught me to be humble and patient. It has taken me around the world and broadened my horizons. It has kept me fit. And i have seen the world from places relatively so few people ever will.

So few people you meet REALLY have a passion in life. If you have a passion it is a crime NOT to throw yourself in 100%

If they are not then you should maybe start searching for the right one

Having a family and in a few years kiting with your kids can be the most rewarding thing, ask dimitri, he is living the dream and has a nice family that supports his passion. You are not going to kill waves or rip freestyle tricks forever anyway. I have friends with the same opinion, they are 30 and think im not ever going to have children cause i dont want to stop kiting. Why should you?

I was skeptical about kiting as I was a wakeboarder & for some reason "looking from afar it looked like too much hard work"? All these lines etc & this kite. Thinking it looks average,not keen. Boy was i wrong.. My mate who owns a wake/kite shop here in Auckland finally talked me in to giving it a go this summer as I sold my boat. I bought a set up & had my 3 lessons, and just learning to fly this kite was such a thrill. Then came the DO IT YOUR SELF PART Seems everything I learnt/was taught went out the window & I found my self walking this kite out to sea in pumping wind on my own.. Well after about 7 hairy, extremely frustrating days I finally had the confidence & skills to kite comfortable both ways. My mates words of "you'll have kitemeres but ride it out" stuck with me,which was lucky because I could have easily given it away. Now I don't think about wakeboarding at all. This sport has grabbed me big time! My mate was right, "it'll change you" he said. You'll be driving along looking at the tips of trees for wind, he was sooo right.
Every kiter I've met male & female are fully supportive & a great community. Unfortunately a lot of douche bags wakeboard

Anyway to cut along story short & not to bore you,I've been riding since February, been out about 30 times. Can comfortable ride both ways, upwind (ish) Get good air with some boned out steezy tail grabs, or stalefishes. Have been out fully overpowered & loving it. & my wife & 2 girls fully support my sport as all good relationships are built on individual needs

With kiteboarding you can have as much adrenaline, as you want. I really like this part. If you tired or lazy, you can just chill riding. If you feel confident, you can have any amount of adrenaline you need.

There are a lot of things and tricks in kiteboarding, that will make your heart pumping:
— lots of different tricks and variations and add-ons and combos, so you never finish learning
— you can go faster into every trick
— you can jump higher
— you can go for wave riding, and when you feel waves power, that you control...
— you can ride different boards like wake/boots, directional/surf, skimboard, wakeskate